Chapter 87: Tenfold Kill Points Delivered to My Door—Rank VI, Right Now

[Mira Calder: Northwatch’s external Spatial Links have been sealed.]

[Mira Calder: Black Banner Troops have entered our Region boundary.]

The two messages sat at the top of the Shattered Marches Channel.

For a moment, no one replied.

A few days ago, tenfold Kill Points had still been nothing more than an eye-catching rule on the Ranking panel.

Now one Region had actually sealed another Region’s routes.

A second later, a new Black Banner tag lit up.

[Garrick Thorne | Black Banner]

[Garrick Thorne: Northwatch doesn’t need to make this uglier than it has to be.]

[Garrick Thorne: Abandon the outer line and hand over the Transit routes already under our control. Any Lord willing to leave the battlefield won’t be pursued.]

The Channel understood the second meaning immediately.

This was not just a resource grab.

Black Banner wanted Northwatch’s entire external corridor.

Mira answered almost at once.

[Mira Calder: Leave Northwatch first.]

[Garrick Thorne: With the people you have now?]

A blurred long-range record appeared in the Channel right after that.

Northwatch’s northern gray-stone slope was already covered in black insignias.

Not from one Region.

At least two Black Banner routes had converged in the same direction.

The probing distance that had still existed between Regions a few days ago was gone.

Northwatch had truly been chosen as a target.

Cassian stared at the black marks pressing into the gray-stone slope.

Northwatch had been one of the first Regions to offer Riftward a reciprocal Black Banner route-intelligence exchange without ever using that cooperation as an excuse to ask for absorption into Riftward’s system.

Mira wanted cooperation.

Not a stronger Warden making decisions for her.

Cassian had no intention of watching Black Banner swallow that line.

And he had even less interest in waiting until Northwatch was gone before sitting down over a map and discussing where the next corridor would spread.

He stopped reading the Channel.

One hand was still resting on Forgotten Shrine’s Rank VI confirmation panel.

The other had already pulled up an old scouting record.

The Outer March reconnaissance Crystal One had brought back a few days earlier, northeast of Crystal Bastion.

Cleared roads.

Gray-stone watchtowers.

A Monster activity band where Levels had begun dropping steadily.

And part of a Region insignia she had never seen clearly enough to identify.

At the time, there had not been enough information to match it to a name.

Now there was.

Northwatch’s Warden insignia sat beside Mira’s name.

Cassian enlarged the two records side by side.

The notch.

Three silver lines along the edge.

The short inward fold at the bottom.

Every detail matched.

Cassian looked at the two records layered together.

Northwatch needed help.

And the Second Regional Ranking made every Lord, Hero, and Troop kill worth ten times the normal Kill Points.

He had not gone hunting other Regions for that rule before. Crystal Bastion had been steadier and far more controllable.

But now Black Banner had sealed the roads themselves.

Brought their own troops inside.

And, by coincidence, delivered an entire batch of tenfold Kill Points onto a route Crystal One had already scouted.

Cassian refusing to hunt people for tenfold points did not mean he planned to push tenfold points away when they walked straight into his reach.

Saving Northwatch was real.

He wanted the Kill Points too.

The corner of Cassian’s mouth lifted.

"Perfect."

He looked up.

"Crystal One."

The pale-gold Crystal Maiden crossed the training ground at once.

Cassian put the Northwatch insignia in front of her.

"You saw this a few days ago?"

Crystal One needed only a glance.

"Yes."

"The watchtowers?"

"Same type."

That was enough.

Cassian opened Mira’s Private Channel.

[Cassian Vale: Is there a stretch of gray-stone watchtowers on your southeastern outer line?]

Two seconds passed.

[Mira Calder: Yes.]

[Mira Calder: How do you know?]

[Cassian Vale: My Scout was there.]

Another two seconds.

[Mira Calder: That Bloodcrystal Bat?]

Cassian’s eyes shifted slightly.

So Northwatch had seen her too.

[Cassian Vale: Yes.]

[Mira Calder: I didn’t send anyone after it.]

[Cassian Vale: Which is why it didn’t attack your people.]

That old question settled in one exchange.

Mira did not ask where the Bat had come from.

Instead, she pushed Northwatch’s current battle map directly into the channel.

Several outer routes were already broken.

Black Banner was not grinding through Domains one by one. They were compressing Northwatch’s operational space toward the center.

Mira was pulling scattered Lords and Troops back toward the northern stone ridge.

Buildings could be abandoned.

People came first.

"They’re trying to force you together."

[Mira Calder: I know.]

"Which also makes you easier to hit together."

[Mira Calder: I know that too.]

Cassian studied the rough map she had sent.

"Then keep falling back."

The other side went quiet.

[Mira Calder: Cassian.]

[Mira Calder: Northwatch’s war doesn’t require you to throw Riftward into it too.]

"I wasn’t planning to throw Riftward into it."

[Mira Calder: Then why are you asking all this?]

Cassian looked once more at the scout route that had finally matched.

"I’m coming over."

[Mira Calder: ...]

"Hold them."

[Mira Calder: For how long?]

"Until I get there."

Mira was silent for three full breaths.

Then she sent one word.

[Mira Calder: Fine.]

Cassian closed the communication window and put his hand back on the Rank VI confirmation panel.

A few minutes ago, the advancement had only been something already satisfied and ready whenever he wanted it.

Now it had a purpose.

Northwatch lay outside the Warden Gate’s current stable connection range.

But one stretch of Crystal One’s earlier scout route sat just beyond that existing limit.

If Rank VI pushed the Gate even a little farther, Cassian would not have to cover the entire distance from Riftward himself.

"Advance."

The confirmation dropped.

A deep vibration rolled through the heart of Forgotten Shrine.

Golden lines around the Domain Core spread outward at the same time.

The completed requirement bars went dark one after another.

[Forgotten Shrine]

[Rank V → Rank VI]

[Domain Effective Area: Expanded]

[Warden Gate Stable Personal-Link Reach: Expanded]

A new unlock list started to unfold below.

Cassian closed it immediately.

He did not have time to read it now.

He opened the Warden Gate instead.

On the map, the gray scout waypoint that had been outside stable range flickered once.

Then it became connectable.

Not inside Northwatch.

Black Banner’s Spatial Lock was still active.

But a huge stretch of the journey he would otherwise have had to make had just been cut out.

Veyra came out of the Deep Layer as the second confirmation light faded.

Her eyes went first to Rank VI.

Then to Northwatch’s emergency message.

"You’re going?"

"Yeah."

"The Eclipse stays."

Cassian looked at her.

Veyra had already settled Crimson Oath across one shoulder.

"Black Banner just pushed three pairs of eyes into Riftward."

"All three answer to you now. That doesn’t mean there were only three outside."

"When you leave, my line stays here."

It was not because she did not want the fight.

And it was not only because her Temporary Covenant could not cross into the Outer March.

She was containing the other risk for him.

If the Northwatch rescue was bait meant to empty Forgotten Shrine, then Forgotten Shrine could not actually be emptied.

Cassian nodded.

"I wasn’t planning to move your line."

Veyra watched him for a moment.

"Don’t take all the Stormlance either."

"Crystal Bastion?"

"Missing one farming rotation won’t kill us."

She lifted her chin.

"But Riftward can’t be left with nothing but Buildings."

Cassian laughed quietly this time.

"Fine."

No argument.

No explanation about who controlled which line.

They were far past needing one.

He turned.

"Rocketiers, back."

"All Crystal Maidens, assemble."

"Celia."

"Aurelia."

The orders went out together.

Sigrid and the other eleven Stormlance returned from Crystal Bastion, but they did not join the expedition.

They stayed at Forgotten Shrine as Riftward’s fastest mobile reserve.

The twenty Level 20 Dwarf Rocketiers arrived at the Gate first, launchers already loaded.

The twelve Legendary Crystal Maidens formed up on the other side.

Crystal One stood at the front.

Celia approached with Lifeless Edge in hand.

Aurelia landed last.

Veyra looked over the group.

"That’s all?"

"Fast enough," Cassian said.

"And strong enough."

Then he pulled a small crate out of the Fountain reserves.

Twenty bottles of Life Water.

Veyra’s gaze dropped to it.

"Twenty?"

"Yeah."

"The last time you sold one bottle, you got five hundred thousand."

"That was an emergency price."

"I know."

She tipped her chin toward the crate.

"I’m asking whether you’re taking all of them."

"All of them."

Cassian passed the crate to the lead Dwarf.

Veyra glanced once more at the twenty fully loaded launchers.

"So you’re not planning to save money."

Cassian dragged the Gate coordinates to the closest point on Crystal One’s scout route.

"It’s a tenfold fight."

"No reason to fight it cheaply."

The Rank VI Warden Gate opened for the first time.

The golden surface was visibly steadier than before.

Cassian did not try to place the connection inside Northwatch.

He could not.

There was no reason to force it.

The far side was a barren slope on Crystal One’s previous scouting route—the nearest point to Northwatch that had just entered stable range.

"Go."

The twenty Rocketiers crossed first.

Then Celia.

Aurelia.

All twelve Crystal Maidens.

Cassian stepped through last, and the Gate folded shut behind him.

There was no second Gate that could carry them directly into Northwatch.

The Spatial Lock sealed spatial transit.

It did not erase the road.

The rest of the distance had to be covered normally.

Cassian looked at the twelve Crystal Maidens.

"Bloodcrystal Bat."

Crystal flowed across all twelve bodies at once.

Human silhouettes collapsed into dark-gold winged forms.

"You go ahead."

"Scout only."

"Find Black Banner’s outer outposts and report their positions."

"Do not touch the main battlefield yet."

Twelve winged shadows climbed together and quickly passed beyond the barren slope.

The Rocketier captain watched them shrink into the distance, then looked down at his launcher.

"Lord."

"We run?"

"Yeah."

"With the launchers?"

"With the launchers."

The Dwarf was silent for one breath.

Then he tightened the securing straps again.

"Understood."

Twenty Level 20 Rocketiers broke into a hard march.

Celia moved at the front.

The Bloodcrystal Bats handled only forward reconnaissance.

Rank VI had already swallowed the longest stretch of the route.

This remaining distance could be covered on foot.

Above them, the first scouting report came back almost immediately.

Black flags to the east.

Three positions.

Farther ahead—

a fourth.

All four sat along Northwatch’s southeastern gray-stone route.

The same route Crystal One had seen days earlier.

Cassian sent one reply.

"Watch them."

"Wait until I arrive."

Veyra’s message lit up then.

[Veyra: Don’t worry about home.]

Cassian read it once.

[Cassian Vale: I already left it to you.]

Two breaths passed.

[Veyra: Then bring them back.]

Cassian did not answer with "I’ll try."

This time, he sent only one word.

[Cassian Vale: Okay.]

After a stretch of forced marching, Northwatch’s southeastern outer line came into view.

The first gray-stone outpost held by Black Banner sat ahead.

Three Lords were bent over a map.

Hundreds of Troops stood around them.

Higher up, twelve dark-gold winged shadows were spread between cloud cover and the backs of the ridges.

Not one moved first.

Cassian studied the outermost sentry line.

"Celia."

Celia stopped at the head of the group.

"Here?"

"Open the first gap."

She nodded.

No Crystal Maiden followed her.

No Rocketier raised a launcher.

She walked downhill alone.

It did not take long for someone on the slope to notice.

"Who is that?"

All three Black Banner Lords turned.

First they saw Celia.

Then the Dwarves and Cassian behind her, not even deployed into formation.

One of them frowned.

"Alone?"

Celia stopped outside the sentry line.

Her right hand settled on the hilt of Lifeless Edge.

"Enough."